Democrats urge Connecticut to abandon US Electoral College

Published 3:00 pm, Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Secretary of the State Denise Merrill testifies during Wednesday’s public hearing on the National Popular Vote.

Secretary of the State Denise Merrill testifies during Wednesday’s public hearing on the National Popular Vote.

Photo: Christine Stuart — Ctnewsjunkie

Democrats urge Connecticut to abandon US Electoral College

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HARTFORD >> State Democratic lawmakers, surrounded by supporters, called on Connecticut to join the list of states to abandon the Electoral College to elect the president and replace it with a National Popular Vote.

There are several different bills proposed this year to have Connecticut do away with the Electoral College, including one proposed by Senate President Martin Looney.

“I fully reject the notion that the citizens of America, in the year 2017, cannot be trusted to directly elect their president,” Looney said. “Instead, I believe that the direct election of the president by popular vote — that the winner of the presidency is the candidate who gets the most votes in the election — is now critical to the essence of our democracy.”

To date, the National Popular Vote bill has been enacted by a total of 11 states possessing 165 electoral votes, which represent 61 percent of the 270 electoral votes necessary to activate it. Connecticut’s neighboring states — New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island — have passed this bill.

The compact takes effect only when enough states sign on to guarantee that the national popular vote winner wins the presidency. This means that states with a combined total of 270 electoral votes — a majority of the Electoral College — must join the compact for it to take effect.

President Donald Trump’s win over Hillary Clinton has renewed talk across the country, including Connecticut, of going to a winner-take-all National Popular Vote election.

More Americans voted for Clinton than any other losing presidential candidate in United States history.